If the Lion’s Den looked nothing like an assailant’s hideout, then the location that Leo led Zain to for their official meeting with his employer certainly was.

An abandoned warehouse far in the corner of the pier. If there was any place in this town that practically screamed “villain’s lair”, then this was the place, complete with its broken roof and run-down wall, while junks of all kinds laid around like a messed-up battlefield.

“Well, that’s the farthest I can go,” as the two stood in front of the giant door to the warehouse, Leo waved goodbye. “You’re on your own from this point on.”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“The employer only hired me up to this point,” the helmet man shrugged at the answer. “And I’m a pro, so I won’t pry on him any further.”

“What are you a pro at anyway?”

“It’s… uh… I’m not sure how to explain it actually. I do all kinds of jobs.”

“So… a contractor?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, something like that.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that none of the jobs were illegal?”

“Of course not!”

“Relax, I kid,” seeing that Leo was about to blow his top, Zain finally stopped and waved goodbye in return. “Well, it was a fun race. Maybe I’ll have another if we meet again.”

“If we do meet again, it’s going to be on a much grander stage than this,” replied Leo with a mysterious snicker. “Take care of yourself now, Hero.”

“You too, Contractor,” as the two men’s backs faced each other, both of them went on their own paths – Zain inside the warehouse, and Leo away from the location.

As the young man took his first step into the meeting location, flashes of light coming from all over the place above him shone down, as if surrounding him were countless police officers armed to the teeth.

“Welcome, Mr. Masked Lion!” A voice boomed over the air – the same modified voice on the phone just a few minutes ago. “To my humble abode!”

“What’s humble about this place?” Still stunned by the lights, Zain was still quick-witted enough for a retort.

“It’s a figure of speech,” the unknown employer, unfazed by the situation, replied. “But nonetheless, I welcome you!”

“How about you stop hiding in the dark and come face me like a man!”

“Ah, that’s a fine choice too,” responded the mysterious person. “But unfortunately, that style does not suit me…”

As the employer snapped their fingers, the lights on Zain’s head finally disappeared and focused in front of him, letting the young man see his surroundings once more.

Never in his life did Zain feel like he got scammed so much.

The lights now shone on a single revolving chair facing its back towards Zain’s face. On the chair was a teenage male with a short and chubby stature, almost looking like an elementary school kid. As the individual dramatically turned himself back to stand, or rather, sit face-to-face against Zain, he turned off the mic in his hand and answered in his actual voice – a barely cracked voice of a teen just hitting puberty:

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“I’m the guy in a chair, after all.”

“… I’m leaving.”

“W-Wait, hold on!” The boy cried out against the departing hero. “I mean it! I was the one who sent the drones out to you, and hired the Mountain Lion Gang to test you!”

“Yeah, kid, whatever you said,” Zain replied with a wave of his hand, without even looking back. “Tell that to your parents.”

“They’re not here! I’m on vacation with my uncle!”

“Uh-huh. And how’s that related to me again?”

“Hey, at least treat me like an equal, will you? We’re the same age!”

Zain froze in space before the claim. Even his name was a secret to the public’s ears, let alone his age. For someone bold enough to claim he knew this kind of information, they must have either taken it from those who were aware of his real identity – his only friend, Mitch, or his adversaries from the Infinite Prison. And Zain doubted that it was the former.

Turning around, the young man completely wiped the smile off his face.

“Who are you?”

Realizing that the bait he had laid out had finally worked, the boy was jumping in glee internally. But since he was still playing the cool guy, he could only express it with a smirk that borderline teetered onto being a dumb grin:

“Those on the streets call me the Architect. But I prefer to be known as the Guy in a Chair.”

“The what now?”

“You know, the Guy in a Chair. Those crazy-good-with-tech guys that act as the sidekick to every hero.”

“… The what now?” The topic had spiraled out of Zain’s comprehension so much that he could only react by repeating the same question.

“It’s a reference to comic books. Have you not read any comics before?”

“Do I look like the kind of guy that can leisurely read comics?”

“Touché,” the boy shrugged at the rhetorical question. “Well, then all you need to know is that it sounds cool.”

“It really doesn’t, no.”

“You should read more comics.”

“Let’s cut to the chase, Architect,” finally tired of the nonsensical talk going on for the past minute, Zain grunted. “Why did you do all of… this, whatever it is?”

“Two reasons,” the boy called the Architect raised two fingers forward. “First, I want to see if your abilities are as good as they claim them to be.”

“Okay, but why go through all of this? Wouldn’t it be better to, I don’t know, watch from security footage or something? If your skills were as good as when you were controlling the drones, then I don’t think that you would have too much trouble.”

“Of course not! That’s breaching confidential data! I don’t wanna go to jail, man! Not like… actually, no, never mind.” The boy then let out a cough to hide his embarrassment.

“But it does lead to the real reason why I wanted to test you, and the second reason why I sent the drones,” he continued. “Because I need a favor.”

Looking at Zain’s face, he would sooner believe the moon was falling onto them at the moment rather than all of this attacking and testing him was actually because his culprit wanted a favor from him.

“Then why the hell would you attack me in the first place?”

“Well, how else am I getting your attention?” The boy retorted. “You never stop after a case anyway!”

Technically I did, but let’s not tell him that right now.

“Okay, suppose all of that is true. So? Did you just expect me to help you after all of that, even if you were just attacking me?”

“Of course not,” as if waiting for the question, the Architect let out a confident smile. “I’ve been in the underworld long enough to know that there has to be some sort of equivalent exchange, and I’m sure my gift to you would be a most generous one.”

“Which is…?”

“Do you know why I was able to recreate a false signal to fool your nanobots?”

The words struck like lightning in Zain’s head. If he knew that much, then it could only mean…

“… I know about the space-time rifts. Not enough to intrigue you, but I know someone who will. Do the favor for me, and I’ll make sure to introduce you to that person.”

“… Who is that person? The ones who know about it, as far as I know…”

“It’s not the World President, Musuhito Ryuuhan, or any of his subordinates. I can assure you that much.”

Tch, so that punk has already climbed that high up the ladder… But at least this confirms that this kid knows things.

The prize was too much for Zain to refuse. “… Fine. What is this favor you ask of?”

“Now, hold your horses, Hero,” finally getting a nod from his opposition, the Architect answered with a heartfelt chuckle. “I never said that your test is done.”

“So? Lemme have at it.”

“I thought you’d say that,” the boy gave a satisfying nod before snapping his fingers once more. From the ceiling, two slick, black helmets dramatically fell down, dangling in the air thanks to a set of steel wires attached to them.

Throwing one towards Zain, the Architect asked. “I’m sure you know what this is?”

It wasn’t his first time handling one, so naturally Zain knew the answer. This helmet was the official, legalized version of the same VR system that he experienced back in the Infinite Prison – the gateway to the Red-Black Course.

“What game are we playing?”

“I’m thinking… Fantasy Soccer.”

“So you’re one of those people…”